Holidays are Magical
by truelovechick77
Summary: One chapter for every holiday. ch1: Easter. The lab gives baskets and has an egg hunt. Eric and Cal give each other baskets. They also team up for an egg hunt, and then eat the candy alone at Calleigh's place. Fun and Romantic. E/C as usual. Please R&R.
1. Easter

**Read, enjoy, and REVIEW please! **

**Disclaimer: I, like you, own nothing. I can dream all I want, but dreams aren't reality.**

**In our family we each get Easter baskets with gifts, and the typical egg hunt so that might clarify things. **

**Note: This is before sink or swim, and Alexx never left. **

Easter

Eric walked into the lab with an Easter basket in his hands. It was yellow, lacy, and had flowers on it. It obviously isn't for him. In it there are plenty of gifts for Calleigh. Horatio had decided that this year for Easter everybody would draw the name of a CSI from a hat. Specifically it had been Frank's cowboy hat. They would then give the person whose name they had drawn an Easter basket with gifts. The total was supposed to be around fifty dollars. He was pretty sure that the guys from the lab were laughing at him for carrying such a feminine basket…

Eric walked down to the ballistics lab. He planned on sitting the basket down for Calleigh to find, but she was already in the lab. She was firing a gun in the range. Her long, golden hair was flowing down her back. She looked beautiful…

"Hey Eric!" She said turning around to face him, and then she took the magazine out of her Lady Smith and Wesson, and then checked to make sure the chamber was empty, which it was.

"Hey Cal! I didn't think you'd be here..." Eric said, not bothering to try to hide the basket. It was too late for that now.

"I know. I came early…"

"Just trying to get your gifts earlier?" Eric joked.

"No! I would never do that! I just wanted to shoot my gun…" Calleigh explained.

"Oh well. You will get your gifts early anyway…" Eric said. Then the walked over to the table and sat down on it, where Calleigh joined him. Then he sat the basket down on her lap for her to explore. "Ok Calleigh. I hope you like it!" Eric said.

"I know I will!" Calleigh said before she grabbed the first thing from her basket. She pulled out an envelope. She slid her finger under the crease and opened it. Inside of it she pulled out a note that said:

_Calleigh, I know you like tabloids. Enjoy a year's subscription to "Person" magazine. Love, Eric. _

"Eric, I thought we were supposed to guess who gave us our basket?" Calleigh asked.

"Oh well… continue?" Eric asked.

On his suggestion Calleigh pulled out another gift from her basket. Well actually it was "gifts" plural. It was a running outfit that consisted of a tank top and Nire shorts.

"I thought that you could use those when we go jogging…." Eric explained.

"I will! Thanks!" Calleigh said.

She reached in to the basket for a third time and pulled out a pedicure and manicure kit. She looked at Eric shocked. It was you like him to think of something as… girlie… as nails.

"What? You like to paint your nails…" Eric defended himself.

"I do…" Calleigh said. Then she grabbed a box out of the basket. It was a box of bullets for her Lady Smith and Wesson, which she had just been shooting.

"How did you know?" Calleigh asked.

"Hmmm, I can't imagine… bullet girl!" Eric said. He didn't want to wait for Calleigh to grab the last thing from the basket, so he grabbed the small wrapped package for her, and then handed it to her, which made her smile.

She slowly tore the wrapping away. It revealed a jewelry box. She lifter the lid, and saw a necklace and earring set. The necklace had a small heart with a diamond on a golden chain, and the earrings were a miniature version of the necklace.

"They are beautiful Eric," Calleigh whispered, shocked that somebody had done something this sweet for HER! Eric was the greatest guy in the world… "You had to have spent more than fifty dollars on these alone. Eric you didn't have to do this, really."

"I know. I wanted to, you're worth it Calleigh," Eric said, careful to not make eye contact.

"Eric, thanks, it means a lot. But really, we are on a city salary…" Calleigh said.

"I know, but Cal, it was fine, really," Eric said. He had saved up some money for something like this…

"Eric, stay here ok?" Calleigh asked. She hopped down from the table, and then gave Eric a light kiss on the cheek. _I am the luckiest son of a bitch on earth…_ Eric thought to himself.

Calleigh arrived with a blue basket with an ocean scene on it. "I drew you…" Calleigh explained.

"Oh, wow…" Eric said. Calleigh handed him the basket and then returned to her seat next to him.

Eric took all of the gifts out of his basket, and sat them down. Then he picked one up. It was a CD from one of his favorite bands.

"Thanks! This is just out! You rock Cal!" He said.

Calleigh laughed, and then said "Thanks! Pick another!"

Eric did as he was told. It was a new scuba mask; his old one had leaked. "Thanks, I haven't had time to get a new one, so I needed this."

Eric then grabbed an envelope from his gifts. He opened them and found two concert tickets, "Thanks! I like this group! But why two?

"The concert is on your day off; I thought you might like to take someone with you…" Calleigh said. She honestly wasn't referring to herself.

"Could you come with me?"

"If you want me to…" Calleigh said.

"I do. You spent more than fifty dollars too…" Eric accused.

"I know. You're worth it. Now we're even…" Calleigh said, and Eric laughed.

Eric lifted out another gift; it was the new Dark Night DVD. "It's a new movie to watch on our weekly movie night! Great!"

The last gift he pulled out was in a box and wrapped. He, unlike Calleigh, tore the paper off rather quickly. Then he slowly opened the box. Inside of it was a new scuba watch. It was the same brand as his old one, the one he had given to Calleigh in the hospital, but a newer model.

In response to Eric's silence Calleigh said, "I thought you might need another…"

"I did…" Eric said honestly. But he didn't regret giving Calleigh his old one at all. Not because he now had a better one, but because he wanted Calleigh to have a little piece of him. "Thanks," he finished lamely.

"The egg hunt should be interesting," Calleigh said to stop the awkwardness.

"It should! It will be like kindergarten again…"

"I guess... I wouldn't know…" Calleigh said, referring to her "childhood" and father.

"Calleigh have you never been on an egg hunt?"

"Well I did, when I was really young. I think my last year was when I was three… it went downhill from there."

"I'll help you today then!" Eric said. It was horrible that such a perfect lady had to go through a childhood like that. It really pained his heart.

"It can't be hard! Al you have to do is find some eggs!"

"It is VERY challenging," Eric joked.

"Well thanks for your assistance then. I'm still not convinced I need it though…."

"You do," Eric said, leaving no room for disagreement. He wanted to spend more time with Calleigh, as usual. It seemed like he always wanted to be with her, and see her, even when he was with her! And when he wasn't with her, she was in his mind, even in his sleep. He dreamed of her every night. Sometimes they were walking on a trail, or swimming at the beach. Sometimes they were talking, just talking. He never heard what she said, or what he said. He just looked at her beauty, and was overjoyed to be with her, and then sadness crushed him once he woke and realized that it had all been a dream. Other times they were making love…

"Ok then…" Calleigh said. She hopped gracefully off the table, and looked as if she was going to walk away. Then she turned back to face Eric. She just couldn't end it like that, she always did that. And she hated that! She wanted to show some feeling, for once in her life. It might be nice to lower her walls, get loved, love back, really live… "So I'll meet you before the hunt then…. To talk strategy," Damn it! She had to add that on! She didn't want to make it seem pointless, but did she have to say that! To be professional…to have her protection around herself!

"I'm looking forward to it!" Eric said, and then he too got off of the table. He turned to face Calleigh, unsure as to what would happen next. He looked into her jade eyes, unable to read them, as usual.

"So am I…. thanks for everything Eric, it means a lot," Calleigh said, unbelievably letting some of her feelings show.

"Thanks to you too! I'm glad you can come to the concert with me…" Eric said, not sure if Calleigh was thinking what he was. Most likely, she wasn't.

"I am too…" Calleigh said. Then they slowly put their arms around the other, and hugged. Neither of them was sure about which one of them started the hug. Calleigh rested her head on Eric's strong chest, and Eric rested his on top of Calleigh's head. The hug lasted longer than absolutely necessary, but neither of them seemed to mind. They pulled back abruptly, awkwardly.

"Um, bye, I should go. See you later," Eric said, departing. He wasn't sure how bad things were going to be between them after what had just happened. He hoped that it wouldn't be too awkward, and that Calleigh wouldn't resign herself more after their sudden break-through. But with all of these worries he couldn't help but leave with a slight grin on his face.

Calleigh watched him leave, shocked about what had just happened. Had they done the right thing? Was that ok? Would things be different between them now! Part of her wanted to be with Eric, really be with him. Spend her life with him. But if she acted on that she risked their friendship if it wasn't true love. It wasn't worth it. But would their relationship be doomed? ...It also risked their jobs, and professional lives. Imagine the gossip it would cause! ... But did it really matter? What if it was true love? Isn't that worth fighting for… at all costs?

~ Later ~

Calleigh and Eric met in a stairwell in the parking garage. It was unlikely that they would be interrupted there, because nobody comes out to their car at two in the afternoon, and because everybody took the elevators (except in an emergency which hadn't happened so far….)

"Hey aqua man," Calleigh greeted him, allowing some joy in her voice.

"Hey bullet girl1" Eric said.

"I am not a girl!"

"But bullet woman sounds strange!"

"I'm still not a girl…" Calleigh joked.

"Ok…. Hey sexy lady," Eric joked, he meant it, but he didn't say it seriously. It would have been way too awkward.

"Thanks… hot stuff," Calleigh said, adding some more fun to their slow, careful, dangerous dance. "So what is our plan?" Calleigh asked, returning to business as usual.

"I think that we should split up so that they don't expect anything. You take the bottom floors of the building, and I'll take the top floors. We'll meet in the middle. Then we can combine our goods…" Eric said.

"Sounds great to me. Do you prefer to eat all of your candy at once, or eat it slowly over time?" Calleigh asked. She had never been able t decide, probably because of her little experience at egg hunting.

"Are you kidding me? All at once!" Eric said, with no doubt in his voice, or mind.

"Kay, how about you come over to my place tonight and we can have a candy binge?" Calleigh suggested.

"I'll be there… but you should probably keep the candy. Or else there probably won't be any left by then," Eric confessed. Something was just so tempting about sugar and chocolate. Especially the marshmallow chicks…

The two of them walked to the front of the building where they were suppose to get instructed about the egg hunt. Once everybody had arrived Horatio began to speak. "As I am saying this the eggs are being hidden in the lab. I see that you all have your baskets that you got as gifts with you, and they are now emptied of their gifts. Once I get a text message saying that all of the eggs are hidden I will give you the say. We can all hunt then. Finders keepers losers weepers, there is no limit or minimum to the amount of eggs you can have. I don't want any injuries, because sugar… is not worth a life," Horatio said, and then his phone vibrated. He pulled it our and read the message. "Let the mayhem begin," He said, then the CSI's stormed into the building like a heard of elephants.

Calleigh ran into the parking garage, but she was the only one to do so. At first she was worried that there were no eggs hidden there, because nobody else was there. But her fears faded away as soon as she saw a bright pink egg behind a tire of her Crossfire. She gathered more eggs behind, on top of, underneath, and inside different objects. A few of the objects were trash cans, cars, lights, poles, speed bumps, and motor cycles. Once she was confident that she had gotten most of, if not all of, the eggs in the parking garage, she took the elevator up to the next level of the lab. She had thought that there would be an egg in the elevator, but there wasn't one. It had probably already been swiped by another hunter.

Eric had rushed to the top floor, but so did Ryan. The other CSI's got of in the middle floors. He hadn't seen anybody besides Calleigh go to the parking garage which was good.

"It's on man!" Ryan challenged as soon as the elevator beeped saying that they had arrived at the top floor.

"Watch out," Eric warned, then the elevator doors opened and they were off to find eggs. Eric found five before Ryan had even found three. Then Ryan struck gold and found a mound of eggs in a closet. But when he picked a few up he realized that they were empty.

"What the hell?" Ryan exclaimed.

"Those are left over eggs. What can I say? I have all the luck," Eric responded, gesturing to his basket which had acquired more eggs since Ryan had last looked.

"Damn you Delko!"

"Strong words, Wolverine."

"Stop being so smug."

"Whatever you say," Eric said before he clicked a button for the elevator doors to open. He was satisfied that he had found enough eggs on one floor, and wanted to leave some for Ryan. Ryan was annoying sometimes, but they were also friends. Eric wasn't that mean…

They hunted for eggs floor after floor. Once they got to the middle floors they didn't find that many, because the others had already swept the place. But they did find some on every floor. With a confidence of an alliance they felt comfortable spending the time to look for the well-hidden eggs. Then they met on the middle floor.

"Hey Cal," Eric said. They were alone on the floor, because the other CSI's were searching for eggs in the floors that they had already covered.

"Hey Eric. I see you found some eggs," Calleigh said, reefing to his heaping basket of eggs, the eggs in his pockets, and the eggs in his hands.

"Not bad… for your first REAL hunt," Eric said. Calleigh had as many eggs as he did, if not more.

"Thanks," Calleigh answered. "Is nine o'clock a good time to start our candy feast?"

"Sure," Eric answered. Then they each got a text message that read: Hunt over. Front of the building.

They took the elevators down to the meeting place, and were the last to arrive.

"Yesh!" Natalia exclaimed at their loot.

"You have a lot too!" Eric defended. It was true that she, like everybody else, had a lot of eggs filled with candy. But Eric and Calleigh each had an exceptionally large bounty from their strategy of hunting in the building.

"Congratulations to all of you! We all have received plenty of goods today. Now I want everybody to reveal whose name they drew for the baskets. I will start," Horatio announced. "I drew Natalia."

"Thanks H! I drew Maxime," Natalia continued.

"You are amazing Natalia! I drew Cooper," Valera said.

"Thanks Valera. I drew Ryan," Cooper continued.

"You're the man Cooper! I drew Michael," Ryan said.

"Thanks mate! I drew Kyle," said Michael Travers in his British accent.

"Cool, I drew Alex," Said Kyle.

"The basket was lovely Kyle. I drew Yelina," Alex said.

"Thank you Alex, I drew Horatio," Yelina finished.

"What about Calleigh and Eric?" Valera asked.

"I drew Eric," Calleigh said.

"And I drew Calleigh," Eric added. He and Calleigh gave each other small smiles, that were not unnoticed by everybody else.

"Hmmm…" Horatio said puzzled. "It wasn't suppose to happen like that…. But you can not plan life," Horatio said, before he departed and put his sunglasses on. The rest of the team walked to their cars. It was the end of a long, fun day for them; but the day wasn't over for Calleigh and Eric.

"See you in a few," Calleigh said cheerfully.

"See you," Eric responded, and then handed her his eggs. Everybody else had already left, so nobody saw this exchange.

~ Later ~

Calleigh had changed clothes. She was wearing tight, low-rise jeans with tears in them, and a tight, lacy, v-neck camisole that was purple. She had set all of the candy out on the table. It was five minutes before Eric was suppose to arrive when the doorbell rang.

"Hey Cal!" Eric greeted her when she opened the door.

"Hey Eric!" She said. Then she led him to the living room where she had the candy set out. "Wow, we have a lot more candy than I thought…" Eric said.

"I know! Wanna dig in?" Calleigh asked playfully. She was actually excited about their candy binge.

"Sure, I brought some beer. Is that ok?" Eric asked, taking some bottles out from behind his back.

"Sure! A sugar high and alcohol, no better combination…" Calleigh joked.

"Cal did you organize the candy?" Eric asked, hardly believing his eyes.

"Yep. Chocolate in the pile on the right, chewy is the center pile, and hard sugar stuff is on the left."

"Wow."

They sat down and began to eat their sweets. Calleigh began on the chocolate, and so did Eric.

"I never knew you liked chocolate this much," Eric said. Calleigh had already eaten a lot.

"I do, along with almost every girl,"

"Ah that's right. Chocolate is the food of love…" Eric said, then he immediately realized the significance of what he said and wished that he could take it back.

"It is," Calleigh said cheerfully. She didn't give any special attention to what he had said, but didn't ignore it either.

"What did you think of the egg hunt?"

"It was fun. I was the only person on the first floor,"

"Lucky. Ryan and I fought it our on the top floor,"

"Really? I didn't see any cuts or bruises on Ryan, and I don't see any on you," Calleigh said.

"Well not physically, but you know what I mean,"

"I do…" Calleigh said, "My other floors were average."

"Mine too," Eric confessed. Then after a moment of silence he added, "IT would have been interesting if Ryan and I had actually fought."

"It would have. It isn't worth fighting over candy though…." Calleigh said.

"I know, but I would have won," Eric said sounding very manly.

"I know you would have. You are a very good fighter, much better than Ryan," Calleigh said.

Her complement had caught Eric off guard. It wasn't like Calleigh to say something like that, so it meant a lot to him. "Really?"

"Yep," Calleigh admitted before tossing a piece of candy inside her mouth.

Eric pretended to show of and flexed his muscles. He got up off of the couch and struck some poses. He took off his shirt so that he wore only a tank top. It made his biceps appear more impressive.

This display made Calleigh laugh. The sight was very impressive though…

Eric sat down, but didn't put his top shirt back on.

"With muscles like that you would definitely have won," Calleigh said, then she tossed a piece of candy into his open mouth.

Eric chewed, and then said, "Thanks,"

"You are, like rip!" Calleigh said honestly.

"That is what jogging and swimming does for me. I think I will gain a ton of weight after eating all of this," Eric said, pointing the candy wrappers stacked high in the trash can, and then the un-opened candy waiting to be devoured.

"You'll burn it off I'm sure. I, on the other hand, will gain some pounds…." Calleigh argued.

"No you won't. It wouldn't matter even if you did, you would still look beautiful…" Eric said, finishing softly.

"Really?"

"Yeah Calleigh. You are gorgeous…" Eric said embarrassed. His cheeks were bright red.

"Thank you Eric, that really means a lot. I never thought I was that attractive…" Calleigh said. Guys had always liked her she couldn't deny that. She was always so hard and critical of herself…

"I mean it Calleigh," Eric said, putting a hand under her cheek and gently moving it so that she would face him. He wasn't sure where his sudden courage had come from, but he liked it.

"I know you do. Thank you. But you already know how attractive you are…"

"Hmmm?"

"You are. Tall, muscular, Cuban, and that small amount of scruff on your face…." Calleigh admitted.

"You like it?" Eric asked, lifting her hand up to his face to feel his "scruff."

"I do. It is very sexy," Calleigh admitted.

"Good to know," Eric said. HE had been trying out the look, and was glad that Calleigh had liked it.

"Eric…"

"Yes Calleigh," Eric answered. He whispered just like Calleigh had.

"I need to tell you something…"

"You can tell me anything," Eric said, brushing his hand on her thigh. He could tell something major was about to happen, and he wanted to encourage her in any way he could.

"I love you," Calleigh said quietly but with a certain passion, and truthfulness. She didn't want to hide the truth anymore. IT was time for her to truly live, and appreciate life to it's fullest. And that meant spending her life with Eric.

"I've always loved you," Eric said, and he traced a heart on her cheek. Then they kissed. The kiss was sweet, strong, romantic, and joyful. It also had a hint of lust, desire, and risk, just like their lives. The kiss was perfect, but it could only last so long before the need of oxygen became too apparent. They pulled apart, both of them shocked and pleased with what had just happened.

"I love you, I really do," Eric said.

"I love you too, I really do," Calleigh responded, and then she kissed him lightly on his lips. It wasn't too long, or passionate, but it still had meaning and love.

"I guess I'll have to come over again to finish the rest of this candy," Eric said. It was clear that they were both done with the candy for tonight, yet it still was piled high on the table.

"You will," Calleigh answered.

**Sorry. I started this last weekend, but I just finished it now. I had a lot of homework this week, and it was really long for me! I hope you liked it. I will add a chapter for every holiday, birthdays included.**

**Did you like it? Was the last bit rushed? Too long? Any suggestions? DID YOU LIKE IT (Again)? PLEASE REVIEW!**

**BTW: Anyone know when Eric and Calleigh's birthday's are???**

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**~ Katherine ~**


	2. Memorial Day

**So… I wrote this and forgot to put it up so this is about a month late. Sorry. **

Ch. 2

Calleigh walked into the lab with her head held high. She and Eric had finished off the candy the night before…. And tommorrow would be Memorial Day! It had taken them a while, but their weekly candy binge was nice. And so was their newfound understanding of eachother. They hadn't gone too far in their relationship, because of work. Really it had barely even started. Her stomach felt like a watermelon was inside of it… they had eaten so much candy the night before in an effort to finish it. To try and hide her feel-like-a-balloon stomach Calleigh had worn an umpire waist sundress. It was a first for her at work.

Eric walked past her, halted, turned around, and then gave her the once-over. Up, down, then up again his eyes feasted. "This is…. New." He sputtered finally. GOD DAMNIT she looked hot!

"We ate…way too much last night," Calleigh said trying to explain. She tried not to, but she liked the way Eric seemed to thirst for her at that moment. Note to self: wear dresses, she thought to herself. Eric was practically salivating at her.

"So… I know that we got together last night…. But tommorrow is Memorial Day, and we don't have work…. I wondered if you wanted to do something?" Calleigh asked. She hated to admit it, but her voice cracked a bit.

With her words Eric snapped out of it, or at least partly, and he formed an answer somehow from his clouded brain. "Um, sure Cal! That would be great! I've got to go… but see you soon!" He said, and then left towards the restrooms. Great! She thought, he really was "excited" about her restraunt. And the thought of him enlarged was, well enough of a pleasure to make Calleigh slightly wet.

They worked on a case all day. A Vietnam Veteran had been found dead in a park. After hours of work, his ex-wife was arrested and charged with his First Degree murder. It was over something stupid, he hadn't been the same after the war with his PTSD and she was mad at him for putting his country above her.

"That was horrible," Eric said into his phone as he pulled out of the lab parking lot.

"It was. He was so brave…." Calleigh responded through her cell as she drove to her place. They were discussing that day's case.

"I know… Do you have any Veteran relatives?" Eric asked.

"Um... some distant relative fought in the Civil War, but other than that I don't know. What about you?"

"I don't really know about my real family all that much. I don't think anyone in any American war's though," Eric answered.

"Oh, right," Calleigh said. "Hmmm…. How does nine o'clock tommorrow sound for a Memorial Day dinner?"

"Great, be there at nine!" Eric said, and then they both hung up the phone.

Calleigh went to bed late that night. She was too busy getting ready for the next day. After hours of preparation, she finally went to sleep. It felt like seconds of sleep, and then a loud BEEP woke her. She woke, went for a jog, showered, ate, put make-up on, and then got her clothes on. Hmmm… I am going to have a short woke day so I can wear this, she thought to herself. She pulled out bright red pumps, boot-cut jeans, a red lace camisole, and a tight fitting leather jacket that made her boobs look great. Diamond stud earrings acted as the icing on the cake.

She got in her cross fire, gunned the engine, and sped off to work. She stepped out, and thought… maybe I shouldn't have worn this. She ignored the thought quickly, and got in the elevator, and walked into the ballistics lab. She put an extra spring in her step, due to Eric being in her mind.

Later that day she was working on paper work. _COD: three stabs to the chest; medium penetration. Witness (es): Mother (Samantha Lyons.) _Her lean hand scrawled across the paper. The pen tapped onto the desk as she took a sip of coffee. But, she almost spit it out when she saw somebody leaning against the door. That somebody was tall, muscular, handsome, and Cuban. A perfect man and he looked perfectly handsome. "Café Cubano?" He asked.

"How'd you know?"

"The smile. There is nothing else like it," he answered her.

"Ah…. What did you want?

"Well, I originally came down here for the paperwork, because H is getting impatient about it," he said, with a sight. "But now I want something else," Eric hinted.

"And that is…?"

"You to wear that all the time,"

"All the time. I thought that you might want to see it… not on me?" Calleigh played along. She was glade he liked it though, she had worn it especially for him, after all. She definitely knew that she wanted to see Eric naked.

After a hearty laugh he said, "Ok I can't deny that," and then took a few steps closer to the blonde beauty. He was just in front of her, at a perfect distance for a kiss. He could easily look down, and probably see a lot of her chest. Being a man, he did, but not for too long so that she hopefully wouldn't notice (he couldn't be sure but he was pretty sure that she was wearing a black push-up bra, which he liked.)

"Like what you see?" Calleigh asked, catching him off guard. She didn't need to ask, but she wanted to. His cock was clearly enlarged. He immediately raised his gaze to her face. He had apparently expected her to be mad, based on the slightly fearful glint in his eyes. To ease his nerves she said, "I like what I see," And lowered her gaze top in-between his legs, where it had been moments earlier.

"You do?" He asked, still shocked about how un-professional she was being. Her outfit, tone, and words were all very seductive. And seduction was not a part of work. She was Calleigh Duquesne- the Little Miss Professional Lady—right?

"Yep, I'll see you in… an hour, everyone is getting ready to leave so you can follow me to my house," And turned around to get back to work. Eric took the hint and left, but not before he had gotten an amazing view of her ass.

After wok Calleigh got in her car, and winked at Delko to follow her. Throughout the traffic home, all she could think about was their relationship. _Am I being to forward? What if he wants to sleep over? Should I let him? What if he doesn't want to, and hates it, and hates me? What if…_

Eric's thoughts were very similar to hers. _I shouldn't ask to sleep with her, that would be rude, right? But she seemed like she wanted to earlier? Maybe this is just a friendship thing and nothing more? That is probably it… after all we haven't done anything since Easter…_

They pulled into her driveway and took deep breaths. This was a first for them, and very important. Eric got out of his car, and opened Calleigh's door for her. His arms flexed slightly when he pulled the door open, and it was a definite turn-on for Cal.

"Why thank you sir," Calleigh said, and she didn't go light on her mouth watering southern accent either. It seemed like she was playing it up as much as possible, as if she knew how it affected the dear man.

"No problem ma'am."

Hand-in-hand they walked up to the door and stepped inside. It smelled like vanilla, lavender, and jasmine mixed. "I'm going to go put dinner in the oven, it will take a while to bake, so we can talk for a while," Calleigh announced. To her surprise, Eric followed her. She ignored him and pulled out the enchiladas that she had prepared the night before and put them in the oven. She expected him to comment, so she said, " I made these…. They probably won't be as good as your mom's but I tried."

Eric, however, wasn't paying attention to her. His thoughts were focused on the pictures that were on the wall. One of the old team (before Speedle's death), and another of the new team (with Ryan and Tara.) There was one of her, Natalia, Alex, and Maxime. Another that had all of the guys; Horatio was at the top, and facing sideways, but Eric and Speed were arm in arm. These were great, but Eric preferred the others. There was one of him, Speed, and Calleigh, one night when they went clubbing together. They all got a hell of a hangover from that experience. The best picture (or at least in Eric's opinion) was the one of just him and Calleigh. She was in a little black dress (but with a very deep V-neck) and he was in a suit. It had been taken at the lab's Holiday party a year ago. Calleigh's voice reeled him away from his thoughts, and back into reality though, so he responded with "I'm sure they will taste great, Cal."

"Thanks, you like it?" She asked, referring to the picture.

"Definitely," Eric replied. At this Calleigh leaned against him and rested her head on his chest. His arms gripped her tiny waist, and held on as if to never let go.

"It is my favorite," She simply replied. They stood like this until the beep from the over signaled dinner was ready. Calleigh finished preparing for dinner and set the food on the table.

"Smell's good," Eric said. The food looked great too. The bright and crazy salad balanced the enchiladas and made almost every color of the rainbow visible on the plate. "Not bad," he commented after he took the first savory bite of his enchilada.

"Thanks," Calleigh replied, and then tried her own. Not bad for the first time, she thought to herself.

"Where did you learn how?" Eric asked.

"Cookbook," Calleigh admitted.

"Ah…." The rest of dinner was made up of the same, rather pointless, chatting. They avoided talking about the weather, but only barely. It dinner had lasted a minute longer they probably would have been desperate enough to mention how it was "hot and humid in Miami as usual." But, it didn't really matter. Eric was to focused on how her breasts look whenever she bent down slightly to scoop food in her fork.

Eric cleared the table, and helped put the dishes in the dishwasher. But the enchilada pan couldn't fit, so they had to wash it by hand. Calleigh filled the sink with water, and bent down to get the soap. Eric enjoyed this; he could easily see part of her ass. They washed it and put it away.

"Hey Eric?"

"Yah?" he replied. But he didn't get a verbal response. Instead, Calleigh tossed some of the extra bubbles at him, and it splattered on his face. "Now you are asking for it," he practically growled. He scooped up a giant amount of bubbles and prepared to launch it at Calleigh, but she was quick and dashed out of the kitchen. Eric wasn't about to accept defeat, so he chased after her. Calleigh took refuge on one side of the couch, and Eric stared at her from behind the opposite side. "Give up yet?" Eric teased.

"You wish!" Calleigh exclaimed just as Eric ran around to her side of the couch. But she was better than that; she jumped over it, and got on Eric's old side.

"We swapped sides," Eric said, pointing out the obvious. But Calleigh's move had given him an idea, so without another word, Eric jumped over the couch like the blonde had, and almost landed on her. Calleigh's police training had improved her reaction time, so she was just able to escape from her would-be attacker. With a dash, she disappeared into her bedroom. Eric chased behind her, and was glad to go into her bedroom. He had always wondered what it looked like, and now he got to see it. The color scheme was relaxing with blue's, green's and browns. It wasn't to feminine, but was still very pretty. He remembered why he was there, and pounced on Calleigh again. This time she couldn't get away, he caught her off guard. They flew through the air, and landed softly on the bed. Eric was pining Calleigh down, but not too rough. If his eyes weren't mistaken, she seemed to be enjoying their game.

"Got you," Eric said, and promptly rubbed the soap bubbles across her nose and cheeks. There was a momentary pause, and suddenly a playful game turned into a romantic activity. Their lips mashed together as if life itself depending on their contact. Calleigh was sure Eric wouldn't mind, so she placed her tongue inside his mouth. Sure enough, his response was more than eager. His tongue wrapped, caressed, and stroked her own. They had frenched before, but never like this. Something was different this time. Their kisses always had lust. It was hard for them not to, but the amount of lust skyrocketed. Calleigh's hands eased under Eric's shirt and rose up to his chest, but after a second she had to take his shirt off, and Eric gave her help without a second thought. Calleigh moved so that Eric was on the bottom, and it immediately felt better. All of Eric's muscles were not weightless, but heavy.

"Cal?" Eric asked. His eyes continued the question: Did she really want this to happen?

Calleigh considered answering verbally, but decided against it. Instead, she pulled off her jacket, and let the straps of her camisole fall off of her shoulders. Then she lifted Eric's hands up to her boobs, and smiled. Eric didn't need anymore reassurance, or help. He began doing what he had dreamed about since the moment that he saw the blonde angel. Little did he know, that Calleigh had been dreaming about the same thing, for just as long as he had.

**So I wanted to carry on but decided against it. This story is rated T after all…. Oh and I'm not allowed to. But anyway, I wrote it, and forgot to post it. I will try and do Fourth of July before I leave for camp on Sunday, but I don't know if I'll be able to. I will get back August first, and there is no computer access there. Thank you everybody for reviewing the last chapter! It would be great to go off to camp after getting some reviews!**

**Love you all (but not in a creepy way),**

**~ Katherine ~**


	3. Independence Day 4th of July

This should be the last story I update before camp, due to the amount of time I have left. I hope that you like it, and please review if you do or do not. I didn't do one for Mother's Day or Father's Day because they aren't major holidays. This will most likely be the last time I update before I leave for camp on Sunday for three weeks. We aren't allowed computer access there . Luv ya (even if you dislike my stories—you still read them!!!), and please review.

Ch. 3 Independence Day

The two lovebirds walked into the park with their feet rising up and pounding down onto the soggy ground in perfect synchrony. The dew was still sparkling on the crisp blades of grass from the sprinklers that had run earlier that morning. The sun had just barely stretched above the horizon, and the team arrived moments later to find a young man's body hidden behind a bush with a bullet in his chest. The sunrays raced across the sky just quicker than the scent of human decay. Th blood pooled around him and seeped into the dirt. Other than the body, blood, and monstrous scent, all was normal in Miami. But for these five people the disaster of death was almost as normal as it is to most people to put butter on bread.

"Lovely early morning scene," Ryan breathed while yawning. Other than that, no words were spoken unless they were necessary for processing the scene. Everybody seemed to tired to do anything more than what was absolutely necessary.

"Red blood, blue eyes, and a white shirt. How fitting?" Ryan muttered three hours later while the five people were crammed into the silver Hummer H3. The date was July 4th 2009.

"That is sick," Eric said. Scathing disapproval seared his voice just as daggers flew from his eyes.

"But accurate," Ryan whispered quieter than mouse so that only he could hear. The last thing that he needed was Delko crawling all over him.

"This one looks pretty easy you all. The hair and DNA seemed to match based on the mini lab in our trunk," Horatio said. They had plenty of high tech equipment in the back to facilitate their job. "Franks just picked him up according to the text I got, and it is already two p.m., so you all can go after we get to the lab. Enjoy you holiday," Horatio said with a smile. Partly he wanted his team to be happy, but he also had a date with Yelina planned….

"Thanks H," Natalia practically screamed. She immediately blushed and looked down. Everybody was wondering why she reacted so enthusiastically, but nobody dared ask. Calleigh and Eric both deliberately looked away from eachother. They had to be very careful around their colleagues.

"What Delko? Are you not going to get laid by some hot babe?" Ryan asked. Eric always had somebody. She was normally tall, brunette, and bold. But nobody knew why all of his girls (or all except his present girl) looked like this. He did this because he didn't want to be reminded unnecessarily that none of these ladies where his love. But he would hopefully never have to deny himself anymore. He was steadily dating the woman of his dreams, and his co-worker, Calleigh Duquesne.

"Anybody special you plan on meeting Calleigh?" Natalia asked. Here eyes were wide, innocent, and friendly.

"Yah," Calleigh said plainly. She didn't want to draw any more attention to herself, or Eric, than necessary.

"Anybody special?" Natalia prodded. Her ears always needed the latest gossip, even if it was about her best friend.

"We'll see," Calleigh said with a smile. Nobody seemed to find this too interesting, because nobody responded. After she was sure that all attention was off of her, she indiscreetly gave Eric a wink, which he saw from the corner of his eye. His response was simple, a single, heart wrenching smile. It would cause anybody to melt on the spot, or almost anybody. Calleigh Duquesne would not let that happen, they were in public.

"Well here you are. Enjoy your half-a-day off," Horatio said once the Hummer pulled to a stop outside of the lab. All he had to do was interview the suspect (who already had contacted a lawyer and pleaded guilty), then he would be able to escape to Yelina's clutches.

The rest of the team walked to the garage. Natalia sped away before anybody else had even reached his or her car. "Anybody for you?" Eric asked Ryan to stall.

"Yep, she is almost pretty enough for you," Ryan responded. The thought of her seemed to light a match under him and he quickly departed.

"Ready?" Calleigh asked, and then got out of her car and switched to the partner's seat. They were going to great lengths to keep their relationship secret, but their relationship was still progressing. They had taken to driving to and from work every day. In response to her question, Eric closed the door and gunned the engine. They rode off into the bright lights of the Miami sun.

After a filling meal, and greatly needed nap. The couple was ready to leave their shared house at four. "So, what should I wear?" Eric asked.

"Let me see…" Calleigh said. She paused in front of his closet for a moment, and then pulled out a suitable outfit. White cargo shorts, and a red polo with sandals would be perfect for what they had planned. "And what should I wear?" Calleigh said. She had an outfit planned, but she felt like letting Eric do this.

"This," Eric said. He promptly pulled out a red strapless sundress and white ballet flats. He knew Calleigh hatted wearing flats (they made her shorter) but he liked them. She always looked so sweet and innocent in them. But, Calleigh wasn't exactly innocent around him, so the contrast only reminded him of how naughty she could be. For the final touches Calleigh grabbed denim purse, and touched up her makeup. She put on Eric's favorite lipstick it was bright red.

"Here," Calleigh said, and then kissed Eric on the cheek. "You needed some red on you."

"I wanted that kiss somewhere else," Eric said. He pulled Calleigh up and kissed her lips; it was much better like this.

"Now I have to fix my lipstick," Calleigh pretended to complain. She didn't really mind though.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" Eric growled.

"Why not?"

"Because it is _very _sexy."

" I know,"

"You are trying to torture me!" Eric accused her.

"That is right, but on the bright side you will be more excited when we get home…" Calleigh said. Leave it to her to find a sunny spot in torture. With a sly smile she disappeared into the CrossFire, and Eric followed her. The engine groaned and car backed out of the driveway then made its way to the baseball field. After buying soda, hotdogs, and candy Eric and Calleigh grabbed their seats and sat down to watch the game. "With the rocket's red glare, and the bombs bursting in air…" the national anthem rang across the field, and hands were placed above hearts. The game began, and it was fun even though neither of them were huge baseball fans. They were more of football and soccer people.

The visiting team took an early lead, and with their rise in runs, the atmosphere in the audience plummeted. Eric and Calleigh were still optimistic though. Because they didn't feel to strongly about the outcome (though they would prefer if home won) they were still able to appreciate the effect of being on at the game. But, when the game finally ended the slaughtering that had occurred on the field dampened even their moods. It hardly felt like a game, it felt like only the visiting team had showed up on the field. But, the best part was still to come. Baseball game's normally had fireworks—but because it was the fourth the fireworks were supposed to be spectacular. The display in the sky was the main reason why they had come to the diamond.

"Look!" Calleigh screamed as the first bang announced bright colors high in the sky. Almost immediately afterwards multiple bangs screamed and red, white, blue, green, yellow and countless other colors bust in the sky. Eric laughed because after every explosion Calleigh either gasped, inhaled, or ooh-ed and ah-ed. "Wow Eric," Calleigh whispered after only a minute. She couldn't believe that the show could get any better. But it continued and only became more spectacular, but it got higher and higher. The tin roof shelter was blocking Calleigh's view (she was only five foot three.)

"Cal," Eric said, and he bent down. Realizing what he was suggesting Calleigh sat on his shoulders. He stood up, and took a step forward. "Are you enjoying this?"

"I feel three!" Calleigh said. She sure didn't look three Eric thought. She looked exquisite, even if she was just wearing a sundress. He was pretty sure that half the men near him were jealous of him. To rub it in, he lifted a hand up, and Calleigh grabbed it. After a few minutes the fireworks began to fall closer to the ground in preparation for the finale. "Ok you can put me down now," Calleigh screamed. Eric did as he was asked and sat her down… on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her firm waist and held her tightly against him. Calleigh enjoyed his contact, and rubbed her hands on his arms, legs, and then rotated so that she sat sideways on him. She then kissed him, and ignored the public as their kiss got deeper and more passionate. But they tore apart in shock as a deafening noise raced into their ears. The finale had begun. As far as the eye could see red, white, and blue, were sprayed across the sky.

Calleigh was silenced by awe, but Eric couldn't shut up. "Did you see that?" "Wow this is amazing!" "Colors are everywhere!" Eric exclaimed as well as other things. The fireworks were definitely the best part in his opinion. It was romantic for him and Calleigh, and it was also just a great show.

"Time to go…" Eric said after the show was over. But suddenly she smiled, and seemed to become really happy.

"What was that smile for?" Calleigh asked. She hoped that it might have to do with taking off that dress, but wasn't sure. It didn't seem like a lust smile, but a just plain happy smile.

"You will see," he said, then he plopped down in the driver's seat. He drove home, a little bit faster than normal. The breaks screeched and he car halted quickly. Eric got out as quickly as she could, and raced over to Calleigh's side. "Come on in!" he said, and they walked into the house. "Sit down, and stay here," Eric demanded, and Calleigh sat on the couch like she was told. Her mind was racing in suspicion. What was going on?

"Eyes shut," Eric said. Calleigh loved him, and trusted him completely. She gentle shut her eyes, and waited for further direction. "Open!" Eric said, and Calleigh was immediately shocked. In Eric's arms lay a small golden retriever puppy. His tongue fell out of the side of his mouth, and eye's danced with excitement. Eric's hands stopped stroking the dog, and let it go. The little fur-ball ran over to Calleigh and jumped on her lap. She was immediately covered in slobber. "Hey sweetie!" She said. The dog then seemed to re-notice Eric. It returned back to his lap, and remained there for only a second before going in-between them. He looked at Eric, and then at Calleigh. "He can't decide where to go!" Calleigh realized aloud. She stood up and picked up the dog. Then she sat down next to Eric, and the dog lay on its back. It's front half was on the man, and rear on the woman. Calleigh began to scratch his belly, which it enjoyed immensely.

"I got it yesterday and have been storing him in a box in my closet ever since. I relieved it before you wok, and after you fell asleep. Oh, and gave it food too," Eric answered his girlfriend's unasked questions.

"What is his name?" Calleigh asked.

"I don't know. I thought that you should name it."

"How about…. Sam?" Calleigh suggested after a minute. The dog just looked like a Sam to her.

"I like that. Sam it is then!" Eric said with a large smile. They fed Sam, and relieved him, and then they put him in the backyard with a blanket for his bed. "He is so cute!" Calleigh exclaimed in delight.

"I thought so too!" Eric agreed, and then they shut the door and faced eachother.

"Thank you Eric," Calleigh said and then lightly brushed her lips against his. But, she wanted more, and knew that he did too. "Remember earlier, I believe that you said that this dress was torturing you . . ."

"I remember. It is definitely torture…" Eric said. He looked at the puppy that was staring at them through the door. He didn't want the puppy to see what was about to happen, so he shut the blinds. Calleigh stood against the wall, and let Eric begin to slowly, but lovingly, torture her.

No, I am not going to end every chapter this way; it just seemed fitting for the past few chapters. I hope that you liked it, please let me know what you thought in a review. This will be the last chapter I post before camp, so don't expect anything for three weeks. I'll miss all of you!!!

**~ Katherine ~**


	4. Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Many people get a day off for Thanksgiving to celebrate. But, it seems that murderers don't care about what day it is when they strike. They sure as hell don't care about making the CSI's work on Thanksgiving. Blood dripped off of the body of a teenager like gravy off of a turkey breast.

"This guy doesn't have much to be thankful for, does he?" Frank said when he saw the body. His lips puckered in distaste, Frank's dim mood was obvious. He clearly was fond of his Thanksgiving meal.

"He sure doesn't" Horatio replied. "But we have plenty."

A slight chuckle escaped from Eric's lips and then the rest of the team giggled also. Calleigh's eyes sparkled, Natalia was glowing, and Ryan was grinning ear to ear. Even in this morbid situation the magic and joy of Thanksgiving dominated the attitudes of the CSI's.

"We are all grateful for working on this Holiday and missing the parade aren't we?" Eric teased. Sure they would rather have the day off, but at least they were able to stay in good moods unlike the last holiday. The 4th was for parties, where as Thanksgiving was spent with family. The CSI's may not share DNA, but family isn't always bound by blood.

"Well, well, well… This bastard slipped up now didn't he?" Frank grumbled with vigor. He pointed onto the ground, and Eric came to investigate. With a glove on Eric picked up a driver's license. The picture did not match the victim, but blood spatter covered the front of the card.

"Tag, bag, and bring him in for an interrogation. Take Ms. Duquesne with you to bring him in." Horatio ordered.

"Yes sir," Eric answered and didn't even try to hide his pleasure. Sometimes he wondered how much Horatio knew about him and Calleigh. He couldn't know, could he? Sometimes it seemed like that man knew everything.

The address of the man on the ID was on the other side of the city. It was about a thirty-minute drive, but traffic was light so they might make it there in twenty if Eric drove quickly.

"Well tonight's dinner should be nice. Natalia, Yelina, and I are good cooks." Calleigh said

"Yah, she is. I just hope that us guys don't mess it up with the sides…"

"You won't. You're a pretty good cook. Ryan I'm not so sure about though…"

"Ryan likes take out. Maybe he'll get smart and by something…" Eric pointed out.

"True. Horatio is bringing wine right? He has a good taste in liquor so that should be ok."

"Yah, it should be ok!" Eric said. Nobody had family in town (Calleigh's dad would spend it in Louisiana) and so the team decided that this year the CSI's would dine together. It would be the first and hopefully not the last time.

After three knocks on the door a middle-aged woman finally opened it. Mouth-watering fumes seeped through the open door, and momentarily distracted the CSI's. "Mrs. Young I am Calleigh Duquesne and this is Eric Delko of Miami-Dade police department. Is your son, Michael Young here?"

"Why do you need him?" The woman asked. Her eyebrows came together and eyes narrowed.

"We believe that he is connected to a murder," Eric answered broadly. The mother opened her mouth in shock, and then quickly shut it.

"My son would never do that1"

"I'm not so sure, may we speak with him?" Eric asked, but the lady didn't really have a choice. They could get a warrant if they had to.

Silently, the woman opened the door for them to enter the house. Slowly, she led them to a room at the end of the hall. Softly, she opened the door. Somberly, she stared down upon her sleeping son. Even in his solace his wounds silently screamed and caught his attention. Bruises spotted and gashes striped his subdued face.

"He barely made it home last night. I did the best I could to take care of him. All Michael said was 'Glenn…' and then he lost consciousness…" Mrs. Young whispered, a tear escaped from the corner of her eye and she quickly wiped it away.

"This is Glenn, correct?" Calleigh asked. She held up a picture of their victim.

After a quick inhale the mother breathed "yes." She seemed to grasp how much danger her son had been in.

"Please let us know when he wakes up. We will be sure to update you on the case Mrs. Young," Eric said, and then they left the mother to her sorrow.

"Well that didn't go how I expected…" Calleigh said once they drove off in the Hummer.

"You can say that again." Eric said, and then he called Ryan to give him an update on the case.

"Hey Cal, they got a DNA match with some skin in the vic's teeth. We have a new address to go to," Eric said.

"Great! A whole day in the car! Or at least a whole half-of-a-day…" Calleigh joked. She got to spend it with Eric so it really wasn't bad. In fact, it was pretty enjoyable.

"Hope this works out. He was just a kid."

"Me too… and if we are lucky we will solve it before tonight's team dinner!"

"Definitely. So I've been thinking Calleigh… Do you think that we should go to dinner tonight together?"

"I don't know. Let's just see ok?" she replied.

"Sounds good. Now lets get this bastard," Eric said as they pulled to a stop outside an apartment complex. Eric got out of the car and walked over to Calleigh's side. He assisted her in getting out of the car (though it wasn't necessary), and then they walked to the door.

_Knock, knock, knock. _Calleigh's fists tapped the door. Silence was all they got in return

"MDPD!" Eric announced loud enough for anyone inside the house to hear. Once again there was no response.

"Not home?" Calleigh asked.

Eric was about to answer when a soft "click" broke the silence. Both CSI's automatically reached for their guns in their holsters. A man rushed out from the back of the house and began running down the street. Eric chased after him and Calleigh followed with her gun raised. Pounding ahead Eric gained on the suspect, and Calleigh stopped chasing him pretty quickly. Eric was gaining on the man, and her high-heels made it hard for her to run. She jogged back to the Hummer to cut off the fugitive if it became necessary, and called for some police to arrive at the scene.

_Thumping on the ground my feet pushed me forward. The gap between him and me was shrinking. My senses went into overdrive. I could feel the asphalt against my feet, and the wind speeding past me. The fugitive's breaths were becoming shallower, and the rhythm of his strides was slowing. Mine, were increasing. With a final bust of adrenaline I leapt on top of the man—like a wolf would attack a rabbit. We both fell to the ground, and he cushioned my landing unintentionally. A car's engine roared closer and then it shut off while I held the struggling man. _

"Don't move!" Calleigh screamed. Her gun was pointed at the man's head. He followed her orders and Eric hand cuffed him and then moved him against the Hummer to be patted down.

" You're name?" Calleigh asked.

"Lawrence Hanson," the fugitive grunted. This identified him as the suspect Ryan had told them to bring in for interviewing.

"Why did you run?"

"'Cause y'all are cops that's why!"

The police cars showed up and took Mr. Hanson to the lab. After telling Horatio what happened, they got permission to get off early to prepare for dinner later that night.

"Keep us updated," Calleigh said and then she hung up with Horatio. "Well we have an extra hour and a half to prep for dinner!" Calleigh exclaimed afterwards.

"Or we could just relax for that time…" Eric suggested. This made Calleigh laugh; it was typical Eric Delko for you. Once they got home Sam ran up to greet them at the door. He had grown some in the past few months. His paws were now un-proportionally large for his larger body, and his "puppy face" contradicted his "teenager" body. It was an adorable sight, even for tough men like Eric.

As soon as they got home Calleigh began to work on her part of the meal: pies. Turkey was Natalia's job, wine belonged to Horatio, Yelina would bring the dressing, Eric was in charged of mashed potatoes and green beans, and Ryan was left with cranberry gelatin and rolls.

Eric watched her work in the kitchen for about thirty minutes. It was more enjoyable than it sounded. The care she put into her baking was touching, and the fact that she gave him tastes was always great.

"Well get to work mister! You staring at me is stressful!" Calleigh teased.

"Yes ma'am!" Eric played back. But he actually did begin to work. He made his mashed potatoes the old-fashioned way like his mother used to, and even made a special seasoning for the green beans. Growing up with all sisters had taught him many useful house skills.

"Smells good!" Calleigh said after she places her apple pie and pumpkin pie in the oven to bake. Now it was Eric's turn to feel the pressure. She watched him finish his cooking, and even helped a bit were she could. Once Eric finished they placed his mashed potatoes and green beans in the unused bottom oven so that they could stay warm.

"So we have forty minutes until we have to leave for dinner at Natalia's place… What should we do in the mean time?" Eric asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Relax," Calleigh answered. Eric stretched across the sofa and then Calleigh lay down next to him. The TV was on, but the volume was turned down. Neither of them was really watching it. Calleigh felt Eric's arms wrap against her stomach and pull her closer to him. Ever so gently he kissed her forehead.

"That chase was unexpected…" Calleigh began.

"Yah, it was. At least we got him, now H can take care of the rest."

"Mhm. You were really fast. I've never seen you run that fast before,"

"Growing up in Little Havana running was big thing," Eric said in response.

"Well I liked it. Well like I'd rather you didn't have to chase him, but you chasing him was impressive."

"Sexy?" he teased.

"Very," Calleigh played along. Twenty minutes later the timer beeped, the took the food out of the oven, and changed into their dinner clothes before leaving for the Thanksgiving Day feast.

"Here come Calleigh and Eric!" Natalia nearly squealed when she saw them get out of Calleigh's car… together?

"So that means we are just waiting on Horatio," Yelina said.

"Hey man!" Ryan greeted Eric when he opened the door for them.

"Thought I'd take Eric too since his place was on my way here, thought we'd save some gas." Calleigh explained to Natalia. The brunette's eyes fell with disappointment. Clearly she had wanted a more gossip-worthy explanation.

Minutes later Horatio showed up, with a wine bottle in each hand.

"Two-fisted drinker, eh?" Eric teased. He promptly realized that it might have upset Calleigh, but she just laughed with everyone else which was a relief for him.

"OK lets eat! I'm starved!" Ryan announced. Everyone migrated towards the table and sat down.

"Who want's to say the blessing?" Natalia asked.

"I will!" Calleigh said eagerly, then she paused for a moment before beginning. "I realize that this probably isn't everybody's first choice for a Thanksgiving dinner. I'm sure that most of you would rather be spending it with your family, or significant other, or probably anybody other than the people you spend almost 10 hours a day almost every day with. But, that's why this is so perfect. Families are together all the time, and can always count on eachother. It's because of this that I feel that I am eating Thanksgiving dinner with my family. I feel so blessed for this, our freedom, and the love that all of you have given me. We are all blessed in too many ways to count. I hope that we may all enjoy this meal and our many blessings that others have to live with out. Thank you, and now let us eat," Calleigh said. She squeezed Eric's hand and saw the love that swam for her in his eyes. That single look was enough to make her heart ring with many more prayers or thanks.

**Her you go, I hope you enjoy. This is an American holiday and so it you live outside of the US I apologize. Thanksgiving is basically a holiday to "give thanks" (as the name implies) and eat a ton of great food. I hope you like the chapter! I will be extremely thankful for any reviews and suggestions you care to give me! **

**Luv ya! **

**~ Katherine ~**


	5. Christmas and New Years

**Well, I decided to combine Christmas with New Year's because they are just so close and tend to be celebrated together. Plus, it worked for what I had planned. If you don't like it, please let me know. The combining thing is just for this occasion… I think. **

**Christmas and New Years**

Dress? Check. Jewelry? Check. Hair done? Check. Shoes? Check. Make-up? Check. Decorations? Check. Food? Well… kinda. Calleigh was in the center of her kitchen going through her mental checklist for her party. It was a family tradition to throw a giant Christmas Eve party. 40 people, beef tenderloin, and numerous sides (most of which are brought by the guests) would be around the table. Everybody typically left by 11:30. It would be one hell of a night, and easily worth the work it required. Calleigh had already put Sam in her room with his food so that he wouldn't distract from the event. The doorbell rang, and panic set it. It was…. 5:30! That is an hour before the guests were supposed to arrive!

Rushing to the door, Calleigh calmed herself and then placed a relaxed smile on her face.

"Need any help?" Eric asked, and immediately saw the relief flood across his girlfriend's face.

"I will love you forever if you help!" Calleigh teased.

"And if I don't…?"

"You will still be loved, just not nearly as much," Calleigh teased.

"Haha, ok. What do I do?"

"Set the table please! I have the silverware set out. The plates and decorations are done, but I haven't done that yet…"

For the next forty minutes Eric helped with the pre-party preparations. Setting the table, putting the beef in the oven and all of the other chores he did seemed to please Calleigh in the most amazing way. Simply saying "yes" and then doing as she asked brought a dentist-worthy smile to her lips.

"Ok, done. We have 20 minutes to spare…" Calleigh exhaled before collapsing on the couch. Her cheeks were flushed from all of the preparations, and a natural glow lit her face.

"Well, that was fun!" Eric teased, good-natured as always.

"Yah, now we just have to wait for the party. That is when the real fun will happen!"

"Of course, so who all is coming?"

"My family… yours…. A few of my girlfriends… some of your friends…and that should be it."

"By my family you mean…?"

"Mom, dad, siblings, spouses, children, and a few Aunts and Uncles…" Calleigh answered. Eric's mom had helped her with Eric's half of the guest list.

"So, like, all 500 of us that live in the Miami area?"

"More like all 22."

"Haha, ok. Remind me to tell my mom to stop helping you with parties. She likes them way too much. It isn't healthy," Eric joked. He knew Calleigh loved parties too.

"Nobody from the lab though?"

"No, they had plans made already. Well, maybe Horatio. He said, "I might stop by if I'm in the area'"

"I'll expect him then," Eric stated.

"Is your mom coming?" Eric asked. He knew how strained their relationship was.

"No."

"You know what?"

"What?"

"You would make a great dad, or husband. You are very helpful, and know how to follow directions." Calleigh stated. It was a semi dangerous statement to make, but she knew that he could take the deep conversation.

"There is more to it then that…"

"True, but it is a good base."

"You think?"

"I do," Calleigh rested her head on his chest and listened to his steady breathing. The gentle rise and fall of his chest was very comforting.

The doorbell rang, and the first few guests arrived. Calleigh took the coats of Eric's mom, dad, and two aunts and uncles.

"Merry Christmas!" Calleigh exclaimed before Mrs. Delko hugged her and kissed her forehead.

"Sweetie, this is lovely. Thank you!" She said to Calleigh, and then moved on to her son. Mid-way through greeting the other Delko's the doorbell rang and her father, brother, and his wife and kids arrived. Headlights came around the corner, and another car pulled up!

"Hey sis!" Her brother said, and then the niece and nephew hugged her legs with surprising strength.

"Hey!" Calleigh answered, and then gave a smile to her father. They were still on slightly stressed terms, but things were getting better.

"Well look it's your sisters and their families!" Calleigh said to Eric. They seemed to have crammed into a single car.

"Welcome!" Calleigh said, and then gently moved everyone towards the living room where the appetizers were set out.

"Where should we put this?" Calleigh's brother asked, holding out a salad.

"Um... in the kitchen. Here I will take it," Calleigh said. Everybody else handed their food to her, and she took it all into the kitchen for the meal. When she returned, she saw her girlfriends coming in through the front door, and Eric's pals behind them.

"Well lads, here she is!" Eric said, hugging Calleigh and squeezing her against him.

"I'm jealous!" One of Calleigh's friends exclaimed in remark to "the boyfriend."

"Well she is the only one for me," Eric said smoothly. All of the girls awed and Calleigh went up and hugged him.

"You got a hottie," One of Eric's friends exclaimed.

"A hottie with a body that's right," Eric replied, and kissed Calleigh. Everyone laughed at this.

After chitchatting for a fair amount of time everyone went towards the dinning room for dinner to begin. The men and children sat down while the women carried to food to the table. Eric sat at one end of the table, and his father sat opposite him. It was quite crammed, even with the kids sitting around the TV with some willing adults to supervise them. Calleigh took her seat on Eric's right side and Mrs. Delko said grace.

"The beef is excellent!" Mr. Delko sad, which gave Calleigh immense pleasure.

"Thanks, your son helped," Calleigh replied.

"Not much," Eric added. The conversation and eating continued until the plates were nearing empty.

"Cal, is this man good enough for you?" Calleigh's father asked her.

"Of course," Calleigh replied. She knew that he had met Eric before and approved. He probably just wanted to put on a show. Eric's parents loved Calleigh, so that shouldn't be a problem.

"What is her favorite color?" Mr. Duquesne asked Eric.

"Besides black, which is only partly a real color, green." Eric answered easily.

"Favorite book?"

"The Book Thief."

"Band?"

"Evanescence."

"Ok, you pass. Welcome to the family," Calleigh's dad said with a chuckle. Everybody else chuckled awkwardly. "Welcome to the family" was too forward. Calleigh glanced at her father's glass to confirm that he had iced tea, which he did.

"Thank you sir."

"Calleigh, you have been part of our family for a while now I do believe…" Mrs. Delko stated.

"But we'll give you a test anyway, just to make sure that you pass," Mr. Delko stated. It clearly was in a father's unwritten book of rules to have a test for their child's dates.

"What is Eric's favorite activity?"

"If he has to be on land he like to go running, but swimming or diving are his first pick's." Calleigh answered calmly.

"What's his favorite movie?"

"Inglorious Basterds."

"You pass with flying colors angel," Mrs. Delko said.

"Thank you," Calleigh said gracefully.

"So, enough of the tests. Dessert time?" Eric said, in a not-so-subtle attempt to relax the atmosphere.

"PLEASE!" The kids yelled. Apparently they were eavesdropping.

"Ok, follow Uncle Eric. I'll get it," Eric said, then took the kids into the kitchen.

"I'll see if they need help," Calleigh dismissed herself.

When she walked into the kitchen she quickly backed out and partially his herself behind the wall. Eric was playing with the kids like any good father should. He wouldn't let them like the icing off the adult cake, but he was keeping the kids plenty entertained. First he closed his eyes and cut the first slice in the kid's cake "Samurai Style." Then he called them each up and had them try to do so to cut their own slice. Most kids peaked, but a few didn't. Nobody cut all that well, but it was adorable to watch.

"Ok kids, go eat your cake." Calleigh walked into the room and said once each kid had gotten a slice of cake. The kids all rushed out to go back to the TV and eat their cake.

"That was so sweet," Calleigh said.

"You think? I tried."

"You did excellent. Much better than I could have done…" Calleigh drifted off. She was afraid that she would make an awful mother. It wasn't in her nature to be silly and open.

"Nah, you're great with kids. I've seen it," Eric said.

"Maybe I can be a bit fun..." Calleigh said before she swiped her finger on the cake pan and ran her icing-covered finger on Eric's nose.

Eric laughed and rubbed icing on her nose too. "Ha, payback!"

"No problem, more sweets for me." Calleigh teased. She ran a finger on her nose and ate that icing before licking Eric's nose and eating that icing. "Yummy."

"No fair!" Eric said. He got more icing on his finger, and was about to like that when he got another idea. He rubbed icing on Calleigh's lips and kissed them before she could lick the icing off of her lips. He ended up pushing her against the counter and getting pretty into it.

"Ew! They are kissing!" One kid said to the two other kids flanking him. Apparently he had been trying to sneak back for more cake. The kids quickly ran off and Calleigh and Eric separated abruptly.

"That's for later," Calleigh said. They cut the adult cake and served the slices before returning to the dinning table with their own pieces of cake.

"Eric was great with the kids," Calleigh announced.

"So that's what you were up to. Spying on me watching the kids, I wondered," Eric teased.

"I couldn't help it." Calleigh said, with a sheepish smile. The friends and family laughed and small talk resumed. After everyone had finished eating groups began to leave. Finally it was just Calleigh and Eric.

"Finally, It's over." Calleigh said. Eric's mother had stayed to help clean up, so all she had to do now was put the dishes away. When she walked into the kitchen she saw that Eric had already put the dishes up. Only one dish remained. It was the cake pan, with the extra icing dumped into it.

"Now is later," Eric said with a smile before the fun began.

~ This is rated T~

The next morning Eric awoke and saw a beautiful blonde head against his chest. This was one of his favorite sights in the whole world. He kissed her head and then left the room as quietly as he could, in order to not wake her.

He fixed coffee and pulled out the tamales his mother had brought the night before for their Christmas morning breakfast. They were heating in the oven when Calleigh walked out. She was in a delicate nightgown that clung to her in all the right places.

"Merry Christmas," Calleigh said.

"Merry Christmas to you too babe," Eric said. He poured the coffee and pulled out the tamales.

"If you want it the way we do, eat your tamales and drink you coffee black. It's an unbelievable combination," Eric said. Calleigh did as she was instructed, and sure enough Eric was right.

"Cubano?" Calleigh asked. Eric knew she needed coffee and food first thing in the morning.

"Of course."

Breakfast was silent for the most part, but it was also very peaceful. Each knew what the other needed, and gave them their space. After all, it was early in the morning after a late night. After breakfast they walked into the family room and sat down on the couch. Calleigh changed her position so that she was lying down with her head on Eric's lap. She was exhausted after last night, but content none the less. Eric strokes the delicate blonde head and hummed a soft tune.

"Ready for presents?" Calleigh asked. The spark in her voice indicated that the coffee had kicked in and she was officially awake.

"How could I not be?" Eric asked rhetorically. Calleigh went into her bedroom in her top drawer and pulled out the full stocking she had gotten for him, and Eric went to a closet where he had stored her stuffed stocking the night before.

"Let's rotate pulling out items," Calleigh said once she got back and saw her man sitting there.

"Sounds good to me, but you go first." Eric said, being the gentleman.

Calleigh reached in and pulled out a CD from her favorite band, and thanked Eric before putting it in the CD player to play. Eric went next and grabbed some boxers with handcuffs all over them.

"I thought it was fitting, with you being a cop and all," Calleigh explained.

"It's fitting in other ways too," Eric alluded, which made them both laugh.

It continued like this until they each had one thing left in their stockings. Calleigh had received a gift card to her favorite store, Cubano coffee beans, some sexy undergarments, a teddy bear, and make-up. Eric was given some DVD's, diving gear (he constantly broke his), a gun-cleaning kit (which was so Calleigh), a bag of chocolates, and a cross necklace.

"One thing left, be careful," Eric instructed Calleigh. She gently reached into her stocking and pulled out a medium sized wrapped box. The unwrapped the paper and hesitated for a moment before opening the box to reveal a necklace. It had a gold chain with a pendant attached to it. The pendant was made of diamonds and pearls and was in the shape of a heart.

"That is gorgeous," Calleigh whispered. She was in shock at the gift. It was clearly expensive and unbelievably thoughtful of Eric.

"It's for a gorgeous girl."

"Thanks for the flattery," Calleigh teased. "Now it's your turn."

Eric pulled out a small envelope, and opened it. Inside he was two tickets to a football game that he was dying to see. He had tried to buy some himself, but they had been sold out.

"No way Cal! How did you get these? They are impossible to get!"

"A girl has her tricks. I thought you'd like to have some quality guy time," Calleigh said.

"These are awesome!" Eric nearly screamed.

"I'm glad you like them," Calleigh said. She had gone to a lot of work to get them, and it had definitely paid off.

They spent the rest of the day at home relaxing. In fact, that's how they spent the 5 days until new years. They had the time off from the LAB because they were lucky enough to get some of the night shift to take their shifts for extra pay. Night walks on the beach, eating out, and early morning jogs in the cool air brought pleasure to their life. Each day they made sure to get out of the house and do something, otherwise they would go insane. They knew that their week was building up to a grand ending: New Year's Eve. They were going to go to the CSI New Year's party and have a blast.

The day of the party they both slept in. Mid-way through the week that had switched to staying at Eric's place to change things up a bit. Calleigh had brought everything she needed for the party. Eric was in his suit and had his hair combed in 15 minutes. Calleigh needed a bit longer to get ready. Eric "helped" her put on her midnight blue dress. It had a fairly deep v and low back, but wasn't too out of place for a work party. She put the necklace on that Eric had given her, and was pleased to see that Eric was wearing the cross necklace she had given him. She put pearl earrings on and straightened her hair. After twenty minutes, which seemed like forever to Eric, she had applied her night make-up and they were ready to leave. Calleigh and Eric took separate cars. Nobody at the lab knew about them dating, and they weren't ready for that to happen yet.

During the twenty-minute drive to the building Calleigh player her favorite songs and even sang aloud which was very unusual for her. The spirit of the New Year seemed to seep into everyone, even through Calleigh's concrete walls. Eric drove in silence with his mind drifting towards the situation at work. It really was awkward sometimes. He arrived at the building and took the elevator to the large conference room where the party would be help. Opening the door, the smell of delicious food and women's perfume greeted him.

"Hey, hey! Look who's here!" Ryan said when Eric walked up to his room.

"Hey man," Eric said.

"Does the infamous player Eric Delko not have a date?" Cooper asked.

"I wouldn't say player…" Eric said, evading the question. He didn't officially have a date, but Calleigh was his secret date.

"BS," Cooper replied.

"Sorry man, I agree with Cooper," Ryan said.

"Thanks guys," Eric said just as Horatio came up.

"Welcome Mr. Delko," Horatio said.

"Nice to you here," Eric replied.

"Who else has to arrive?" Ryan asked.

"I believe Ms. Duquesne is absent," Horatio replied.

"Not anymore," Calleigh said as she walked up to the group. Natalia, Alex, and Maxime followed her.

"Here is our lady cult," Eric teased.

"That's not very nice," Calleigh replied.

"Let's eat," Horatio suggested. The group flocked towards the buffet that had been set up for the party. After filling their plates with food the group went towards one of the many round tables that were decorated with confetti and streamers in red, white, and blue. Each table had 5 chairs set out.

"We will find another table," Valera suggested and Cooper followed her. Horatio, Ryan, Natalia, Calleigh, and Eric sat down and waited for the toast to be given. After everyone seemed to be seated Stetler rose and tapped his glass with a utensil.

"Well, it has been a big year for us CSI's. I hope that this coming year is prosperous and enjoyable for us all." Rick announced. Glasses of champagne clinked and the feasting began. The TV on the wall played Time Square's dropping of the ball ceremony. The 5 main CSI's ate their dinner and made small talk.

"What's everyone's New Year's resolution?"H asked.

"The typical, to lose 10 pounds," Natalia announced.

"That's not necessary," Calleigh said politely and truthfully.

"I want to get a girlfriend," Ryan said. He had had some recent troubles with finding ladies.

"I want to help my dad more," Calleigh said. Her comment was followed by silence, because nobody really knew how to respond.

"That's sweet of you," Eric finally said. "I want to learn how to cook my mother's secret tamale recipe," Eric said. Calleigh smiled slightly at this when she remembered their Christmas morning breakfast.

"What about you H?" Eric asked.

"I want to be there for Kyle," Horatio said. For the amount of hours he worked, he really was being a great dad for his newfound son.

The dinner continued until most people had cleared their plates. Calleigh excused herself to go to the restroom and Natalia quickly followed.

"Girls always travel in packs. It's awful," Ryan said and the other two men laughed at this.

Natalia caught up to Calleigh and made her move. "So, no date tonight?" Natalia asked.

"I'm flying solo. The same for you?" Calleigh asked.

"Sadly," Natalia answered. The two girls went to the restroom, washed their hands, and then began to fix their make-up.

"What do you think of him?" Natalia slid her phone over to Calleigh. Calleigh looked down and saw a picture of a fairly attractive man.

"He's pretty good looking. Why?"

"He was going to be my date, but had to cancel because of a family thing," Natalia replied.

"Good for you! I look forward to meeting him," Calleigh replied enthusiastically. The two girls hugged each other and began to put their makeup away.

"Any possibilities for you?" Natalia asked Calleigh on their way back to the table.

"Not at the moment," Calleigh lied.

The girls sat down and resumed dinner. Dessert had been served when they were in the restroom but the men had been kind enough to get a slice of cake for Natalia and Calleigh.

"This is really good," Natalia said once she took the first bite of her cake.

"It is," Ryan said. "So… what did you two discuss in the bathroom?"

"You, Ryan, and Eric," Natalia lied. It was too good of an excuse to bother them and she just couldn't pass it up.

"Well what did you say?" H asked.

"We bet about who would win in a fight," Calleigh said.

"The results were?" Eric asked.

"Horatio first, Cooper second, Ryan third, and Eric last," Natalia said. She knew this would bother everyone except for H who she didn't want to piss off. He was her boss after all.

"Unfair!" Ryan nearly yelled.

"Calm down wolverine. We all know you can kick ass… well the ass of a bunny anyway," Eric joked.

"Hey! You were last! Don't give me that," Ryan countered.

"I believe it was a joke," Horatio said.

"Oh, right…" Ryan said which made everybody laugh. Then the lights dimmed and everybody quieted down.

"TEN, NINE, EIGHT…" came from the speakers and everybody joined in the countdown for the ball dropping.

SEVEN, SIX, FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE!" The ball was dropped and everyone cheered.

"Happy New Year!" Was yelled and everybody hugged each other. It was a moment of joy and of peace.

"Let's go," Eric said and grabbed Calleigh's waist. Everybody was too distracted with the screaming to notice their disappearance for the time being.

They walked out into a dark hallway that was a few minutes away from the party room.

"Happy New Year," Eric said, and pulled another box out of his pant pocket.

Calleigh opened it, and saw a pair of earrings that matched her necklace. Once again, she was swept off her feet by her boyfriend's kindness.

"You're a dear," Calleigh said. She wanted to put them on immediately, but the CSI's would notice once she came back that she had changed earrings. It was their job to be observant. She kissed Eric gently and felt his hands slide down her dress towards her butt. She let him have s squeeze and then she took a step back. They were at work, and it wasn't the time or place.

"Tomorrow," Calleigh vowed.

"I know," Eric said. He kissed Calleigh once more, and then led her back to the party room. She was glowing the entire way back, and once she got in the room she still couldn't get the giant grin off of her angelic face.

The party was still in full swing. Everybody was talking, drinking, and enjoying the moment. It was nice to see everyone relax for once.

"I think that I'm going to head home now. I need my precious beauty sleep," Calleigh announced.

"Night!" The team answered.

Eric followed with the same excuse fifteen minutes later. On the drive home all he could think about was how Calleigh radiated that night. He had made her truly happy, which was a victory to him. The way she looked in her dress and the way her eyes sparkled couldn't escape his thoughts.

Calleigh drove home overwhelmed with emotions. Eric knew her, and knew how to please her. This was equally joyful and shocking to her. She knew he cared for her, but now she had a better glimpse as to how much he really loved her. Calleigh wasn't used to being cared for; she had always had to take care of herself. He really was a great guy. . . When she opened the door to Eric's house Sam leapt on her and began to lick her legs.

"Hey boy! Aren't you just the cutest puppy ever?" In response Sam barked, which the neighbors probably hated. She sat on the couch and cuddled with Sam waiting for Eric to come home.

"Do you approve of Eric?" Calleigh asked the innocent puppy when the front door opened.

"I think he does," Eric said.

"I do too," Calleigh said.

Eric joined them on the couch, and grinned.

"You two looked so cute," Eric said.

"We try," Calleigh answered and Eric laughed.

"You don't have to try at all," Eric replied and kissed her. The dog bounded off of the couch knowing that his space was going to be filled. Sure enough, Eric and Calleigh fell asleep together on the couch minutes later.

**I started this before Christmas and forgot about it until now. I didn't have time to edit it because I was in too big of a hurry to post it. I will get to work on Valentine's Day (which I was unable to do on time) as soon as I can. It may or may not be the last chapter, please let me know what you want.**

**Reviews are appreciated!**

**~Katherine~**


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